Sprint 15 Inland Championships – 22nd October

Thomas Sandal of Grafham is the new Sprint 15 Inland Champion. Storm Brian caused the Grafham Cat Open to be cancelled but the Sprint 15 Inland Championships went ahead on Sunday 22 October. Many were put off by the forecast but 9 took part in a force 5-6 Westerly (a bit better than the forecast). Race officer, Nigel Denchfield, set a trapezoidal course and ran 4 races back to back in rapid succession.

Thomas Sandal won with a first and 2 second places. Kevin Cummerson, also of Grafham, was 5th.

RS400 and RS800 Inlands – 7th/8th October

37 RS400s and 14 RS800s entered the Inland Championships at Grafham this weekend. Saturday’s three races were conducted in 14-18 knots of westerly wind. It stayed dry for most of the day but drizzle set in towards the end of the afternoon. Many competitors enjoyed a meal and pleasant evening in the top deck bar.

Sunday dawned sunny with lighter winds of 4-10 knots. In the 400 fleet, the overnight leaders Mike Simms and Jack Holden from Carsington SC held on to win ahead of Howard Farbrother and Louise Hosken from Queen Mary in second and Richard Catchpole and Gary Coop of Leigh and Lowton in 3rd. Racing at the top was close with only 8 points separating the first 6 boats.

In the 800 fleet, Chris Rashley and Dylan Fletcher of Stokes Bay SC also held on to their overnight lead to win with an impressive 5 first places (and discarding a second place). Luke and Emma McEwan from Royal Lymington SC were second and Ralph and Sophie Singleton from Datchet were third. Y&Y report on the RS800 event here

Peter Saxton, race officer, said: “It was hard work from a race management perspective and must have been even harder for the sailors with the prevailing shifty conditions.”

D-Zero Inlands – 16th/17th September

32 sailors participated in the 2017 D-Zero Inlands at Grafham on 16th-17th September. The event was won by Ian Morgan from Netley SC, with David Summerville of GWSC in second place and Rob Lennox of Barnt Green SC third.
Full report here.

RS600 Inlands – 2nd/3rd September

The revitalised RS600 class saw 26 boats enter for this event, including 9 Grafham Water sailors. On Saturday the lack of wind meant no racing was possible, although three 600s joined in the Club Sociable Saturday race in the afternoon. On Sunday a rescheduled Race 1 got underway ahead of Club racing in a brisk south-easterly 12-15 knots. It was won by local GWSC sailor Jon Bradbury while several others retired either with gear failure, injury or finding the conditions too much. Races 2, 3 and 4 were sailed alongside the Club races, with the first two of these won by Jamie Mawson from Notts County SC.
Going into Race 4 after lunch places at the top of the fleet were very close, with several sailors capable of being crowned Inland Champion. The wind had moderated a little and 10 boats finished the final race with Jamie Mawson taking line honours and the event title. Jon Bradbury finished in 2nd, with George Smith of Shoreham SC in 3rd place.
This was the first championship event for the RS600 class for a while and the fleet are hoping the great turnout and successful event is further evidence of a renaissance for the class. They are now looking forward to the 2018 Nationals in Weymouth.
Link to the full results

Optimist Inlands – 13th/14th May

205 Optimist sailors attended the IOCA Inlands which was won by Will Pank. Report here.

Topper Inlands – 29th/30th April

For the 30th year in a row GWSC hosted the Topper Inlands, which was attended by 150 5.3 sailors and 32 4.2 sailors. The 5.3 class was won by Samuel Copper from West Lancashire YC who posted an impressive 7 wins. Report here.